Chapter 3 – Savage Age (3)

She kicked the mercenaries to encourage them to go out and fight. Even so, the mercenaries gladly rushed forward wildly.

Waaaaah!

The Roben mercenaries stabbed the backs of the terrified enemies.

An enemy whose stomach was pierced fell to the ground, vomiting blood.

A mercenary rummaged through the dead guy’s clothes with wide, bloodshot eyes.

A few copper and silver coins came out.

The mercenary giggled and began to strip off the guy’s equipment as well.

Just then, another mercenary smashed that guy’s head. And then, he rummaged through the corpses of both guys.

Necks flew, legs flew. Blood-stained coins flew through the air.

The mercenaries, like hungry ghosts, threw themselves into it without exception to pick up the coins.

A pandemonium.

All kinds of filthy greed were concentrated here.

“Real war.”

Veloc muttered blankly.

It was a sight so horrific that his modern self would have vomited and run away immediately.

But now that his body and memories had merged, he simply accepted this situation calmly.

Yet, was the discomfort in a corner of his heart because his feelings of having lived as a modern person were still alive?

Just then.

“Sir Veloc.”

Adel, who had approached unnoticed, took a handkerchief out of her pocket. And then she began to gently wipe Veloc’s face.

She said softly.

“You seem unusual today. Do you have any injuries somewhere?”

In the squire’s eyes, which carried a tint of brown, three emotions—trust, admiration, and lastly, worry for her master—were colorfully mixed.

She was still loyal.

Instead of immediately going out to cut off enemy heads and accumulate achievements, she decided to assist her master.

Loyal squire Adel. The only ally he could trust here.

At her kindness, Veloc’s tension dissolved, and he chuckled. Fortunately, it wasn’t the absolute worst.

He felt a bit glad that he had chosen a knight.

Getting such a beautiful subordinate and all. Veloc smiled slightly.

“I’m fine. Just a little… tired.”

“Is that so? Thank goodness. Then I will assist you.”

Adel, who was looking at Veloc with worry, smiled brightly and took a combat stance.

Veloc froze with his smiling face intact.

No, I said I’m tired? Doesn’t this usually call for letting me rest or something?

“I will pave the way. We can’t give the lord’s neck to the lowly mercenaries. Oh, right. Before that.”

Ignoring her master’s wish, Adel headed somewhere.

Squish!

The sound of bone and flesh being cut was heard.

When she reappeared a moment later, a completely dented kettle head was held in her hand.

Adel smiled like a mischievous child while wrapping Bourbon’s head in a bundle.

“I almost forgot the trophy. Let’s go!”

“Was she originally of this personality?”

“What did you say?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

A moment later.

The long, long war ended.

What is a knight?

A human weapon who has trained in all sorts of killing martial arts since childhood.

Those who value honor more terribly than anyone else and take chivalry, which protects the weak and ladies, as a virtue.

An officer who is loyal to the lord they serve and sweeps through the front lines of the battlefield.

Well. Weren’t these smooth-tongued words ultimately nothing more than the ruling class packaging themselves to look good?

Knights were simply merchants who earned money by selling their martial power to those in authority. Where on earth was honor in such a profession?

Veloc sneered inwardly.

In an instant, the world he lived in changed, and a world with different values arrived.

But he simply hurled a sneer. Because a single individual couldn’t step forward to change anything.

It was displeasing and filthy, but he couldn’t just die, could he? He had no choice but to adapt to this Medieval Land.

Veloc thought.

‘Until I get out of this shitty game, I’ll pretend to be a fine knight.’

Bates eventually fell.

The lord safely escaped, but the village under his rule was ruthlessly trampled.

Men who resisted to protect their families were killed, women were raped by the angry mercenaries, and children were sold off as slaves.

And in front of Veloc sat the Lord of Roben, the culprit of all these events.

Yet, he burst into a broad laugh and clapped his hands. Very cheerfully.

Rulers never considered the circumstances of the ruled.

And Veloc, who had resolved to become a real knight, also had to act that way.

“Splendid, Sir Veloc. I knew you were a grand knight, but I never expected you to defeat that Bourbon.”

“You flatter me, My Lord.”

Veloc accepted the words without being arrogant yet never submissive.

The lord smiled with satisfaction, as if he liked that demeanor.

“No, Steel Axe Bourbon was a knight recognized even in these parts. Who could have known that the one to bring down such a man would be such a young knight?”

It was natural to award merits if one achieved success on the battlefield.

The mercenaries received gold equivalent to their contracted days, and Veloc, as a knight, was being commended by the lord who summoned him one-on-one.

The reason a ruler governing a territory went out of his way to put in such effort.

Veloc could easily guess. Since it was also a scene he had seen multiple times while playing this game.

“A valorous knight requires a reward worthy of him.”

As the Lord of Roben nodded, the butler standing beside him politely handed over a pouch. Veloc received the pouch while remaining in a kneeling posture. It was heavy.

“You may count it. I have put in a generous amount so as not to disappoint.”

But Veloc shook his head and tucked the pouch into his chest.

“The Lord must have put in plenty. It is fine.”

‘He probably put in about thirty gold coins and fifteen silver coins. Is it because he’s rich? It’s a massive sum.’

There was no particular reason Veloc didn’t count the coins. It was because he already knew the scene from the game. But the lord, who did not know this, liked the knight before him even more.

A disciplined behavior unshaken even before wealth. Was he not indeed an honorable knight?

The lord’s smile deepened.

“Sir Veloc. Do you know the reason I have summoned you separately?”

“I am not quite sure.”

Veloc feigned ignorance on purpose.

As the lord signaled the butler, the butler brought out a goblet and a bottle of wine.

Pouring the blood-red liquor with a trickle, the butler politely handed the goblet to the lord.

Roben took a sip of the alcohol and spoke lamentingly.

“Outside, demons and monsters run wild, and humans blinded by greed kill one another with crazed eyes. Currently, it can indeed be called an era of chaos and war.”

It was an annoying statement to hear from the mouth of the Lord of Roben, who had picked a fight first and attacked the Bates territory which had been sitting quietly. But what could be done? Here, the one with power was king.

As Veloc listened silently, Roben nodded and continued.

“What do you think is needed in such an era? Yes, it is martial power and gold. Fortunately, I am the head of the trade city Roben. I possess enough gold to overflow. I need power. Not ragtag mercenaries, but a skilled knight.”

“Does that mean…”

“Sir Veloc. I heard you have wandered for quite a long time. Isn’t it time to settle down in one place?”

Due to this war, the Lord of Roben gained many things but lost much at the same time. He gained new land, slaves, and gold, but lost loyal soldiers and knights.

What was lost had to be replenished. Let alone a knight who had defeated that Bourbon, who had killed most of the knights under his command. He coveted him all the more.

Roben rubbed his hands together and spoke. His tone was full of confidence.

A recruitment offer.

If they accepted this, Veloc and Adel would no longer be wanderers, but could reside within Roben territory and live on a stipend received from the lord.

Obtaining a stable job and residence at the same time.

Roben was a golden land famous as a trade city. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

A normal wandering knight would have gladly accepted immediately.

Indeed, the game character Veloc had participated in this war to find shelter.

But merged with the modern person, he hesitated.

Because having seen the ending of this game, he knew the future.

‘At any rate, in a few months, Roben territory will also fall. Due to a pincer attack by other territories.’

It was because the Lord of Roben’s greed was excessive.

Feeling threatened by the power of the gold released to conquer the Bates territory, other territories allied. Among them was also the Lord of Bates, who had survived and sharpened his dagger.

Roben, which had been weakened due to the war with Bates, naturally could not block it.

Numerous knights, soldiers, and mercenaries raided. The city burned, and the lord was decapitated.

No matter how much he busied himself when he was a player, it couldn’t be stopped. Like a tsunami.

Roben was a sinking ship.

‘Even so.’

He couldn’t carelessly refuse this offer either. The Lord of Roben was not a merciful person.

He was a belligerent and proud noble who would launch a preemptive strike without hesitation.

If he refused, the Lord of Roben, feeling insulted by a wandering knight, would send soldiers to kill Veloc and Adel.

Within that was also a measure to prevent losing a skilled knight to competitors.

Veloc contemplated.

Should he have just deserted the battlefield from the beginning without killing Bourbon? But if he had done so, things would have gotten even more tangled up.

Because he would have been dropped onto the streets without a single penny. This world was not such an easy place. Wait…

A decent idea came to mind in Veloc’s head.

‘Yes. If it’s a place destined to ruin anyway, can’t I just take what I can get and leave?’

Work moderately for a bit and then run away.

It was a bat-like behavior far from a knight’s honor. But what of it?

Veloc was not a knight from birth. He was a 21st-century modern person. To survive, he could do anything.

“Sir Veloc? Is my offer so bad that you contemplate it this much?”

As the hesitation lengthened, Roben, who had been smiling just a moment ago, slightly frowned.

He tapped the armrest of his chair. It meant he had become displeased. It was chilling how his expressions shifted without rest.

“No, My Lord. I simply lacked a sense of reality for a moment…”

“Hahaha. What a disappointing thing to say. If it’s you, you are fully qualified to become the sword of this Roben. Yes, absolutely. So, your answer?”

Veloc smiled broadly and bowed his head.

“From now on, my sword is yours.”

At those words, Roben smoothed out his frown and laughed out loud again. And then, he patted Veloc’s shoulder.

“Good, good. Sir Veloc, welcome! Tonight, I shall hold a celebration banquet along with your investiture ceremony. Prepare yourself well. You will have to drink until your nose turns crooked.”

“It is an honor.”

Level up. Veloc chuckled.

He still remembered the characters that suddenly appeared after the fierce battle with Bourbon and the rising sense of elation.

At first, he thought he had gone crazy. But that wasn’t it.

[Knight’s Swordsmanship] Lv4 [Unquenchable Fighting Spirit] Lv2

Remaining Skill Points: 1

Because a game system window of sorts was openly situated inside his inner self.

He thought such things were only seen outside of a monitor, but seeing it directly before his eyes was a bit unfamiliar.

To be precise, it was closer to expressing that he felt a capability graph quantified arbitrarily, but he thought, whatever.

Because whatever it was, it was a good thing for his current self. Veloc examined the visible items one by one.

First, Swordsmanship.

The starting Swordsmanship level was 4. Looking at it by the standards of the world view, the Swordsmanship level of general knights was 2. On the other hand, this body, in terms of swordsmanship alone, was twice theirs.

It was of a master class.

At such a young age, it was a realm of talent that an ordinary person could not dare covet.

Since it was said to be the body of a knight with the qualities to become a hero, he was indeed an extraordinary fellow.

As he concentrated on the Swordsmanship skill, dozens of sword forms automatically came to mind. Also, that secret technique that had defeated Bourbon earlier.

‘Deflection’

A technique that changes the trajectory of the opponent’s weapon by striking it with the flat of the blade. Easier said than done,

In the midst of frantic combat, he had to strike a specific point with clear timing and power.

A technique that required high-level skills.

But Veloc, simply by investing skill points, could acquire the combat methods of numerous knights. If he invested points, the techniques he could use would become more numerous.

But right now, it was not needed.

What was the use of swinging a sword well? If his body froze, he could do nothing.

He turned his gaze to the one remaining skill.

[Unquenchable Fighting Spirit]

A skill that prevents the body and mind from freezing when facing an enemy.

It was quite an intuitive and simple effect, but it was a power that could never be ignored.

A battlefield where a moment’s judgment or a split-second movement decided life and death. Because throwing off fear was more important than anything. There was no better skill to turn a weak modern person into a true knight.

Veloc set raising the Fighting Spirit skill as his top priority for now. Even as he did so, a silly chuckle leaked out. Because it felt like he was writing a character guide using himself as the game character.

A world in a game that felt like a dreadful reality yet also a fantasy. Veloc fell deeper and deeper into this incomprehensible world.